Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

7.4PG118 minDirector: Peter Weir

1975 film by Peter Weir

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian mystery film directed by Peter Weir from a screenplay by Cliff Green, based on the 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay. The film stars Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Vivean Gray and Jacki Weaver. The plot involves the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic at Hanging Rock, Victoria on Valentine's Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community.

Picnic at Hanging Rock was a commercial and critical success, and helped draw international attention to the then-emerging Australian New Wave of cinema. It is widely regarded as one of the most iconic and defining films of the New Wave. In 1996 it was voted the best Australian movie of all time in a poll by the Victorian Centenary of Cinema Committee and the NFSA.

In 2025 the film was restored in 4K resolution for re-release into cinemas.

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is Picnic at Hanging Rock about?
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) — Three students and a school teacher disappear on an excursion to Hanging Rock, in Victoria, on Valentine's Day, 1900. The movie follows those that disappeared, and those that stayed behind, but it delights in the asking of questions, not the answering of them. Even though both th
Is Picnic at Hanging Rock based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is Picnic at Hanging Rock scary?
Content rating: PG. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.